The present invention relates to organizers, and in particular, to organizers having a handle that swings between an exposed and a stored position.
An organizer is helpful for keeping numerous small objects together and readily accessible. For example, a complement of cosmetics can include numerous small items such as eyeliner pencils, lipsticks, compacts, various bottles, brushes, elastic bands, loops, etc. Much time can be wasted locating these various items when applying makeup.
An organizer can benefit from a handle, as well as a holder specially adapted for holding various small objects. Such a handle or holder should project outwardly, but such outward projection consumes much space when the product is being shipped.
Various types of trays have been made for holding reagents, dental tools, food, lipstick, etc. Some trays are molded with a shell-like structure to give the appearance but not the reality of a solid body, in order to conserve material. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,586.
Known trays include a handle that can be mounted in the center of the tray. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,553,880 a centrally mounted handle can be snapped out of a socket and stored inside the tray to conserve space during shipment. The handle, however, is loose during shipment, requires some assembly skill, and can be lost before assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,031 shows an earring storage device having quarter and half panels that rotate about a common axis. Those panels have an arch over them, which never swings into a storage position. This storage device therefore does not fold flat and is not made compact for shipment.
A related design patent application (U.S. Ser. No. 07/774,263, filed Oct. 10, 1991) shows the appearance of an organizer by the same applicant, but does not reveal the structural and functional details disclosed and claimed herein.
See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,045,135; 1,484,613, 1,704,122; 2,107,023; 2,790,547; 4,610,348; and 4,849,177, as well as U.S. Design Patent Nos. 76,482; 142,366; and 183,165.
Accordingly, there is a need for an organizer in the form of a tray that can have a handle or a holder that enhances the use of the organizer, but which can be placed into a stored position to reduce the package bulk during shipment.